APRIL 4, 2021•FANSIDED.COM
Jason Castro belts first Astros homer since leaving team in 2016 (Video)In his first at-bat back with the Houston Astros, Jason Castro belted a two-run homer against the Oakland Athletics. Talk about a dream ret...
Exits after collision with wallPinder was removed in the bottom of the first inning of Sunday's game against the Astros with an apparent injury, Shayna Rubin of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
ImpactAccording to Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle, Pinder's removal was likely the result of his collision with the right-field wall when he flagged down a fly ball in the top of the first. Pinder appeared to be shaken up on the play, but he was able to finish out the half inning in the field before heading to the locker room. Stephen Piscotty came on to replace Pinder, who didn't record an at-bat in the contest.
APRIL 4, 2021•ROTOWIRE
Oakland A’s contact issues hindering offensive potentialThe Oakland A's headed into the 2021 season with plenty of optimism. They were the defending AL West champions, and now that they are health...
APRIL 4, 2021•WHITECLEATBEAT.COM
Throwing in practice game MondayFiers (hip) will throw three innings against the Giants' Triple-A Sacramento players at the Athletics' alternate training site Monday, the Associated Press reports.
ImpactIt's a relatively notable step for the veteran right-hander in his recovery, considering he never got an opportunity to pitch in a Cactus League game this spring. Getting Fiers a taste of game action -- albeit against minor-league bats -- is presumably a good litmus test at this point with respect to his ongoing preparation for his eventual 2021 debut.
APRIL 4, 2021•ROTOWIRE
Carries over spring dominanceTrivino recorded four strikeouts and allowed an earned run on a solo home run over 2.2 innings of relief in a loss to the Astros on Saturday.
ImpactThe 29-year-old also fired a perfect inning on Opening Day, making it a very encouraging start to the season for Trivino after an excellent spring. The right-hander could conceivably work himself back into more high-leverage relief situations as the season unfolds if he's able to continue generating a similar caliber of performance.
APRIL 4, 2021•ROTOWIRE
Could rejoin lineup TuesdayAstros manager Dusty Baker said he expects Brantley (wrist) to avoid the injured list, but the outfielder may not be ready to rejoin the lineup until Tuesday versus the Angels, Cha...
ImpactBaker said that Brantley "dodged a major bullet" when he was struck on the wrist by a pitch in Saturday's win over the Athletics, as the 33-year-old was able to avoid any structural damage. He'll be held out of Sunday's series finale, however, and based on Baker's comments, Brantley doesn't seem likely to make it back Monday for the first of two games versus the Angels. The Astros play only five games during the upcoming week, so fantasy managers may be best off keeping Brantley out of their lineups with the knowledge that he'll likely miss at least one of those contests.
APRIL 4, 2021•ROTOWIRE
Sits out SundayMaldonado is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
ImpactJason Castro will pick up his first start of the season while Maldonado heads to the bench after catching each of the last three days. Though the Astros put up 26 runs in the first three games of the series, Maldonado didn't get in the act, going just 1-for-13 with six strikeouts over that stretch.
APRIL 4, 2021•ROTOWIRE
